7th March Wednesday : Cricket against Torah Academy

8th March Thursday :

9th March Friday : Bear Assembly 12h35; Tuck Grade 2

12th March Monday : Open Afternoon Gr 1—7

Professor Venter at Bellavista School for the week

13th March Tuesday :

14th March Wednesday : Cricket against Sacred Heart

Evening Talk by Professor Venter 18:30—20:00

15th March Thursday :

16th March Friday : Sports Day

19th March Monday :

20th March Tuesday :

21st March Wednesday : Public Holiday

22nd March Thursday : Evening Talk by Sarah Wedderburn

23rd March Friday : Tuck—Grade R

: Assembly 12h35

26th March Monday :

27th March Tuesday :

28th March Wednesday :

29th March Thursday : School closes at 12noon.

Uniform Shop Times

Tues—Friday mornings

7:30—8:15 Tues afternoons

12—14:45

Precision and

Accuracy To know there is a need

to understand words and concepts and use them

correctly and to seek information

automatically when the need arises

Dear parents

What really interests us

Change is a good thing but it is well known that education embraces change as swiftly as a glacier,

moving in a frozen sea, at record breaking slow speeds. Trending in education across the globe are

concepts like collaborative learning groups, child-led education, neuro-cognition, brain plasticity,

inquiry based learning, project based learning, socratic method and schools that embrace thinking,

ethics and philosophy. These changes in thinking about respect for the child, emotional intelligence

and problem solving are changes in current practice but not new. Psychologists and thought leaders

in the educational sector have been telling us for decades about how children learn, how brains

change, how all learners process, retain and recall information, and how the emotional intelligence,

physical wellbeing, ethics and social responsibility

qualities of a child matter as much as the “three R’s”.

Bellavista, by its very nature and long standing practice is

interested in all these trends, especially that the ship

called education is turning the sail towards them. More -

over, Bellavista is really interested in the new research

underpinning the concepts we buy into and in how theory

plays out in practice in a school like ours that provides for

Newsletter No. 3 March 2018

diverse learning needs and works towards a prescribed curriculum. Here’s what we have invested in for years,

what we are really, really interested in, what we are passionate about and what we still seek to learn more

around:

What does it all mean and how do we play these out in our day? Nothing here is put before the children without

intention. So, make tea, settle in and let me share a bit more about our school:

First, and central to our interest is the child – your child.

You see, education is not about content and

curriculum, systems and programmes. It is about

raising children, each individual, each with unique and

curious ways and each deserving respect. Before we

select and apply any trend or any practice, we will learn

about the child, find that child and partner with the

parent who takes primary responsibility for ‘growing’

their little one.

Cognitive Modifiability is a term that embraces the

idea that the brain can change. Recent research in the

field of neuroplasticity confirms the work of education-

al giants like Reuven Feuerstein has promoted for

decades, that every child has the potential to learn

and that intelligence is modifiable. This fundamental

belief pervades all that we do at Bellavista. It is the

foundation of our practice and it underpins our culture

of hope. We are a hope-filled school.

To achieve the outcomes we desire with the children, we actively engage CEA (Cognitive Enrichment

Advantage) and IE (Instrumental Enrichment) as programmes to overtly work with the children. These principles

are then pervasive in our curriculum based work and our language.

Children come in bodies. It is through the body that every human learns and interacts with the environment. All

information that we receive (emphasis ALL) is channeled through the senses – smell, taste, touch, auditory,

visual, movement, multisensory. It is our brain that must integrate this incoming information and make sense of

it, discarding what it is superfluous and using what is of importance to us at that time.

Sensory Integration Intervention and strategies for Self Regulation involve understanding the child’s

neurological threshold so that we can help that child explore this threshold and find strategies to regulate ‘self’ to

be optimally and appropriately available to the task at hand, be that learning in class or playing a game of sport.

At school, our Occupational Therapists are

pivotal in this role, working with the educators,

coaches and other therapists with various tools

and opportunities to work with the child in this

way – Snoezelen, adaptive seating, flexible

classroom spaces, sport and movement

activities, fidget toys, gross motor equipment,

uniform adaptations, TOMATIS®, dark rooms and

quiet spaces.

Creative Expression, Problem Solving and

Design Thinking tap into our children’s

strengths.

These are the makers, the doers, the dreamers, the designers and the story-

tellers of the future.

In his recent address to us at school, Dr Graeme Codrington described a world

of work that waits for our children. This is their world. We need to rally our

efforts to build their problem solving, their

design thinking, their strategies for ap-

proach to learning, their collaborative ca-

pacity, their risk taking, their literacy and

their confidence so that they can take on

their world. The national curricu-

lum may abandon technology and reduce art and performing arts, but we

are only intensifying our efforts and making space for these pursuits. Ro-

botics, coding, computer literacy and using software as an assistive tech-

nology are the trends we are escalating.

Structured, Multisensory Learning Experiences pepper everything

we do. As you journey here you will learn of Singapore Maths and

RAVE-O, Paired Reading and Guided Reading and Knowledge Network.

Children who struggle to learn to read benefit from exposure, repetition and carefully

scaffolded reading instruction. To acquire solid numerical understanding,

the child should follow a spiral curriculum that introduces concepts systematically

and successively, within a meaningful context and delivered with the right amount of

challenge for the child. This structured approach requires your reinforcement at

home and perhaps, the idea that children with difficulties benefit even more from

Collaborative and Communication Skills can only develop when each member of the ‘team’ holds

respect for the other and values every person’s contribution. Using CEA, we explore “Sharing Behaviour” which

overtly unpacks the interpersonal skills and practices required. In IE, we look at “Identifying Emotions” wherein

the children learn to cue in to the subtext of the communication in the group. Projects and events may be collab-

oratively organized to give the learners a chance to exercise these

skills. Mediation by the teachers and therapists is high for the

interaction and lower for content. We will value process before

product in these tasks. Sport provides a natural, healthy opportunity

to work collaboratively and hence, the push that every child

participates in a sporting activity.

All these concepts are well founded and excellent, yes, but

well behind the fourth revolution and disruptive changes we

see in every other sector of the economy. Enter the technolo-

gy imperative. How will we integrate all of the above into a

21st Century space? How can our children learn without us,

accessing what they want to learn, when they want to learn

it, in the manner in which they want to learn? How will

technology bypass disabilities to afford equal access? How

will our children, at this school, create a vision for their

future? These are the challenges set before us. These are

the opportunities that excite us. These are the points of part-

nership with parents that will be wonderful to explore. Anybody in?

Bellavista SHARE opportunities

Bellavista S.H.A.R.E. provides Bellavista an opportunity to share what we know and believe in and support the

broader community. We source speakers that we relate to and enjoy. There are short courses, evening talks,

workshops and professional development programmes on offer. Many events are suitable for parents and the

invitation to attend is wide open. Arm yourself with knowledge – come!

Parking, protocol and general road sense

Reluctant as I am, I must urge all parents, au pairs, grandparents and other caregivers to abide by the basic

protocols for fetching and dropping on Wingfield Avenue:

What Max, Vincent, the 7Arrows guard and/or a teacher says, goes.

Use the drop and go system on our one way – stop on the left hand pavement side, quick kiss goodbye,

unload, pull off.

Drive by once dropping is done is on the right hand lane – no stopping;

Definitely no parking in a neighbour’s driveway!

All children should be strapped in;

No child should be left unattended in a car.

Cocurricular news

On Friday 16th March, we undertake our annual Bellavista Sports Day. This is a compulsory school day for the children and we encourage you to come along and support them in their races. This year, we are on our Friday rotation. Whilst many parents are at work, we encourage those who can slip out or attend to join us. Please note that the running order cannot be shared as times change in the day and frustrations build if we had created any other expectation. Some reminders for the day: The Grade Seven House Captains will set a theme and arrange the cheerleading as one of their first

duties.

Children are to come dressed in their PE shorts and a BELLAVISTA issue house t-shirt. Every child is to

have a cap on and sunscreen is expected.

Encourage your child to have a good breakfast. They may not bring food and any fruit or sugary drinks

with them. Water and fruit will be provided during the course of the morning. Other refreshments will be

handed out once the programme is finished.

Refreshments will be on sale for the parents. Children may only buy AFTER the day’s events are

concluded.

Children are to be at school no later than 07:30am and we are likely to be done by 12:00pm.

Parents are not to approach the stands prior to the close of the event, tempting as it is. This causes upset

for other children who have goals towards independence.

Once the children are seated with their houses, they may not leave the area. Children may go home with a

parent, grandparent or guardian after the day has finished. If your child is to leave with a friend, please

note that a written instruction to the teacher is required.

Any asthmatic children are to bring along their pumps.

Sisters and brothers are encouraged to dress in house colours and they will also have an opportunity to

participate.

We urge you to bring your umbrellas and deck chairs and join us in celebrating the wonderful, talented and all-round amazing children we have at this school.

Winter Programme

Please be advised that we will change to the Winter Cocurricular Programme from 20 March 2018. The Gr3-7

children will elect their sport and cultural choices in the next week. Netball, Cross Country and Soccer become

the primary sports codes on offer. We believe that every child should be active and involved in a movement

activity in order to live a life of wellness. We insist that attendance at a sport offering is at least once a week,

and strongly encourage two sessions.

Easter and Pesach collections

The collection of Easter eggs and/or Matzo crackers is underway. Please drop off your donation/s at reception

or in Grade 7E. Thank you.

Enjoy the month,

Alison Scott